Gutters with downspouts are used to remove rain water falling upon roofs of houses and buildings. Water is directed toward the edge of the roof and into a gutter. Openings in the bottom of the gutter allow for removal of the water. Vertical downspouts extend from these openings and transport the water to ground level where it is dissipated. Downspouts are considered functional necessities and are not normally esthetically pleasing.
The prior art discloses drainage systems including downspouts intended to blend with the roof and building structure so as to be inconspicuous. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,492 (Cucchiara et al.). The system uses a trough 20 to collect water from the roof. Collected water is transported under the eaves by a soffit channel 30, which connects with a hollow L-shaped spout post 35. The vertically extending spout post is connected to the building, over the siding, at a corner, with each leg of the soffit post covering a different wall. Another spout post 50, shown in FIG. 7, functions as a combined pillar and drain spout.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,597,104, (O'Donnell) discloses a building tile and wall construction having a gutter 40 with a gutter spout 41 leading to a space between walls 29, 30. A sewer conduit 43 carries water from between these walls.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,357,183, (Smith), discloses a water conservation system having a gutter depositing water within a reservoir. A supply line extends from the reservoir to inside wall 34, comprising a stud frame of timber or metal, as shown in FIG. 2.